“Shortbus” Review & Premiere

September 28, 2006
DDMARCO

So after more than two years of looking forward to and writing about it, what did we think of John Cameron Mitchell's much-anticipated "Shortbus", which we finally saw at the NYC premiere last night? Short answer: We liked it. Longer answer: We liked it a lot. (But is it porn?)

Read Damon DeMarco's review and world! exclusive! party report after the jump.

For those just tuning in: Mitchell's first film since the critically acclaimed "Hedwig and The Angry Inch" five years ago, "Shortbus", which started life as "The Sex Film Project", represents a collaborative effort between the director and his actors. The movie centers around an intertwined group of people, all of whom in some way or another have issues with sex, and largely takes place in The Shortbus, a polysexual salon in New York City where art, politics and sex collide and get all wet and sticky. Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee) has never had an orgasm, monogamous gay couple Jamie (PJ DeBoy) and James (Paul Dawson) are thinking of "opening up" the relationship, and Severin (Lindsay Beamish) is a dominatrix (with a secret!) who sees sex as a power struggle. The story weaves its way through a post-9/11 NYC, and even features in its opening scene a shot of dildos looking down on Ground Zero.

But what "Shortbus" has already become infamous for, of course, is that the sex scenes in the movie are real sex: real erections, real penetration, real cum shots. MItchell maintains that the film is about "connection", not porn, which is understandable after seeing the movie. Since we have a rather broader definition of porn here at Fleshbot (= anything that turns you on), we don't see why we can't have it both ways: hardcore sex that makes us think about what makes us human and makes our blossoms tingle, even if most of the sex in "Shortbus" is what the director calls "disastrous". (Then again, we think bad sex is really underrated.)

And "Shortbus" definitely has its moments; after all, there's something really hot about watching a self-suck facial on a big screen, even if the guy you're watching do it breaks into tears as soon as he's finished. The characters' personal (read: fucked up) relationships with sex remain at the forefront, though, not the sex itself. Justin Bond ("Kiki" of Kiki & Herb), who plays himself in the movie and acts as emcee of the shortbus salon, says "The revolutionary thing about this film is presenting a sexuality that isn't fear-based." We could think of a lot more egregious reasons for a hot self-suck facial than that. Whatever your own definition of porn may be, "Shortbus" is definitely something you won't want to fast forward through.

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Oh yeah, and the party? In a lot of ways, the post-screening scene at the Angel Orensanz Center on the Lower East Side (keepin' it real, yo) was like extension of the movie, with cast members performing numbers on stage for the audience. The actors were joined by several other performers including burlesque queens Miss Dirty Martini, World Famous *BOB*, Julie Atlas Muz, The Wau Wau Sisters, and JCM himself, who did a gorgeous performance of "Wig In a Box" from "Hedwig". And everyone joined in together for a grand finale which echoed the denouement of the film, a song called "We All Get It In The End": a definite case of life imitating art imitating life. Spotted in the audience were several celebs come to support Mitchell and the movie, like Rufus Wainwright, Parker Posey, Michael Stipe, and the usual members of the NYC "wouldn't miss the opening of an envelope" persuasion including Michael Musto, Richie Rich, Will Wikle, Daniel "DList" Nardicio ... and, er us. If you weren't, here's what you missed:

Paul Dawson gets ready for the finale: